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Great Leaders Are Always Finding And Polishing The Hidden Gem

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One of my favorite sports books/movies of all time is Moneyball, the story of the 2002 Oakland Athletics and their revolutionary use of metrics in the scouting and analyzing of players. Today, it is a given that every team in Major League Baseball has adopted that philosophy, looking for ways of evaluating talent that were not previously valued; many great businesses have also adopted this trend in the pursuit of their own success.

Just a couple weeks ago at Leadercast 2015, Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP SE—the global market leader in business software with 291,000 customers in 190 countries—shared with my team lessons on how his company finds value others miss.

McDermott executes SAP’s vision of improving lives with a people-first strategy, starting with the company’s 74,500 employees. Among their many areas of interest, SAP has one of the most innovative programs worldwide for hiring autistic adults.

In 2015 alone, 50,000 people diagnosed on the autistic spectrum will enter the workforce, and the Center for Disease Control estimates that 1 in 68 children are born with autism today. Additionally, 85% of autistic professionals are unable to find a job. This is largely due to employers not understanding how to manage—and get the benefits from—their special talent.

McDermott and SAP do not follow this logic; in the hiring of autistic employees, the organization has actually empowered its employee base.

“By thinking outside of the box and doing things that maybe other people didn’t do, or didn’t think of, cultivating these employees strengthened us,” McDermott said when we sat down with him after his speech. “We’ve got great talent in the company with unique skills, especially in the area of software programming and engineering.”

This open approach to finding value others miss fascinated me. (Full disclosure: I’m the father of an amazing 6-year old autistic son, Will, and can’t wait to see what great things he’ll do one day for some company!) Although individuals on the autism spectrum are often characterized by repetitive behavior and social deficiencies, they have great attention to detail—which has proved beneficial to SAP.

SAP started their dynamic program a few years ago when they hired autistic employees to create their manuals for their software programs. Since then, the company developed a way to integrate underutilized, autistic professionals into many other parts of their workforce.

“I believe that the greatest skill that a leader needs to have is empathy for others. You have to realize that everyone brings something different to the equation,” said McDermott.  “Instead of assumptions, we have a strong conversation with our employees to determine what it takes to apply that person’s magic and skill to the job at hand.”

SAP’s autistic job program is a perfect example. One executive at the company, Jose Velasco, has two autistic children and recommended to leadership that there were strengths available in that population that others weren’t tapping. McDermott’s leadership team took the idea and is changing lives…and creating hope.  On a global level, SAP manages close to a thousand people on the autistic spectrum—and growing. This blend of innovation and servant leadership has created a powerful formula for success for SAP, which is reflective of their organizational culture.

“Trust is the ultimate human currency. If you give people trust, then you receive it in return,” said McDermott. “A great leader can’t go in with all the answers. In the end, the people have the answers.”

McDermott and SAP have flourished in the business world with this philosophy, which directly connects with customer service and company stakeholders. “To the customer, always be who you said you would be,” he advised. “You have to learn early to get involved with the customer, have empathy for them, adapt when necessary, and really care about meeting their needs and doing things for them that others did not.”

By recognizing the key values that the organization has in service to their employees, SAP ultimately impacts the lives and the enjoyment of their consumers.  McDermott and SAP have made a habit of discovering the value that others miss.

Great teams recognize opportunities in thinking outside of the box.  The winning organizations quickly identify new technologies and resources, and use them to their advantage. Like the 2002 Oakland Athletics and their use of statistics, SAP has uncovered some of the most forward-thinking strategies in the world of business—and have been incredibly successful for it.

The greatest winners in sports and business are exceptional at SEEING things through a different lens. Who have you admired for that skill in companies, sports teams, or organizations? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear your opinion!